Li Haifeng, an assistant professor from the University of Macau (UM) Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME), received the 2016 Outstanding Youth Paper Awards at the Fourth National Conference on Neutron Scattering and Workshop on Applications of National Neutron Facilities, in recognition of his contributions to neutron scattering research.

Prof Li’s research, which revealed the origin of ferroelectricity and the nature of magnetism in triply-ordered chromium-based perovskites, was highly praised by the Special Committee on Neutron Scattering of the Chinese Physical Society as well as experts and scholars from related fields.

Prof Li holds a PhD degree in condensed matter physics from Juelich Center for Neutron Science (JCNS) and the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. His master’s thesis received an Excellent Master Thesis Award from the University of Science and Technology Beijing. His doctoral thesis achieved an overall grade of ‘Auszeichnung’ (Distinction) (the top award to a PhD student in Germany), and earned him the ‘Borchersplakette 2009’ honour at RWTH.

The conference was co-organised by the Special Committee on Neutron Scattering of the Chinese Physical Society, the China Spallation Neutron Source, the China Institute of Atomic Energy, and the Research Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry under the China Academy of Engineering Physics. It was co-hosted by the China Spallation Neutron Source and the Southern University of Science and Technology. Approximately 200 research scientists from more than 20 universities and research institutes attended the conference to discuss neutron scattering, neutron diffraction, scattering technologies, and other related issues. 56 academic reports were presented at the conference. Prof Li is one of the two recipients of the 2016 Outstanding Youth Paper Award.